SOJ students receive prestigious Donaldson scholarship

After two years of honing their reporting skills at UBC’s J-school, Sachi Wickramasinghe and Garrett Hinchey have embarked on the next stage of their journalism career: a four-month internship at CBC.

For Wickramasinghe, who interned at CBC Radio’s The Early Edition last summer, the prospect of returning to CBC was incredibly exciting. “I fell in love with the integrity with which they carried out their journalism,” she said.

As a Donaldson scholar, Wickramasinghe will work across a wide range of platforms at various newsrooms within the CBC.

“The idea of having another chance to learn even more fom the best and brightest at the CBC, expand my skill set further, and spend time at different newsrooms across the country — which is what the Donaldson offered — was irresistible,” she
said.

For Hinchey, the Donaldson fellowship will provide an opportunity to further develop his journalism skills and receive close mentorship from distinguished CBC journalists.

“The mentorship aspect of the scholarship was a huge motivator for me. I’m still relatively new to journalism, and to be given the opportunity to not only work under the CBC umbrella, but be learned and trained was an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I’m extremely grateful that the CBC chose to invest in me and I’m really looking forward to growing and contributing at the same time.”

The application process for the scholarship paired Wickramasinghe and Hinchey against applicants from eight other journalism programs across Canada, and also against some of their peers at UBC’s J-school. Each year, up to eight students are selected for the Donaldson.

The Donaldson scholarship was established in 1999 in honour of the founding head of CBC Newsworld, Joan Donaldson. It aims to reward students who have shown exceptional academic performance, ability to learn and aptitude for journalism.

Past scholars have contributed to CBC programs such as Canada Now, The National, Newsworld Today and CBC News Sunday.